Lesson Plans

#MyZeitgeist Year in Review Project – Lesson Plan

Introduction

zeit·geist – noun, \ˈtsīt-ˌgīst,ˈzīt-\ : the general beliefs, ideas, and spirit of a time and place.

From the George Zimmerman trial and the secrets leaked by Edward Snowden, to Middle East upheaval and the tragedy of the Boston Bombings, 2013 changed the world in many different ways. To look back at every triumph, tragedy and trend, Google creates a summary of the year year’s events called Google Zeitgeist. Now it’s your turn to bring the Zeitgeist project into your classroom.

PBS NewsHour Extra, Google and Meograph challenge students to create their own “MyZeitgiest” project highlighting the stories that made the biggest impact in 2013. The winning individual or team will win a Nexus 7 tablet, courtesy of Google, and second and third place will receive a $25 Google Play gift card from Google and a $75 gift card from the PBS NewsHour. The winning entry will also be showcased on the PBS NewsHour website and on YouTube’s Education page.

On Sunday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied a permit for completion of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which would have come a half a mile south of the Standing Rock Sioux reservation in North Dakota. Instead, the Corps said it would begin to explore alternative routes. Continue reading →

Fidel Castro, the 90-year old communist leader of Cuba, died on Friday. He had ruled the country with a firm grip for nearly half a century, withstanding a 50-year long U.S. economic embargo and multiple assassination attempts. Continue reading →

Throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, President-elect Donald Trump promised to crack down on undocumented immigration, including hundreds of thousands of young people who have obtained temporary legal status under the Obama Administration. Continue reading →

On Sunday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied a permit for completion of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which would have come a half a mile south of the Standing Rock Sioux reservation in North Dakota. Instead, the Corps said it would begin to explore alternative routes. Continue reading →

Fidel Castro, the 90-year old communist leader of Cuba, died on Friday. He had ruled the country with a firm grip for nearly half a century, withstanding a 50-year long U.S. economic embargo and multiple assassination attempts. Continue reading →